Mayan Prophecyhttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/mayan-prophecy
en-usSat, 10 Dec 2016 01:39:32 -0500Sat, 10 Dec 2016 01:39:32 -0500The latest news on Mayan Prophecy from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/failed-doomsday-predictions-ebible-fellowship-2015-1011 times the world was supposed to end and didn'thttp://www.businessinsider.com/failed-doomsday-predictions-ebible-fellowship-2015-10
Wed, 07 Oct 2015 08:38:29 -0400Dina Spector
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/50d3371c6bb3f7b722000011-832-624/apocolypse-dnu-5.jpg" alt="Apocolypse (DNU)" /></p><p></p>
<p>It's October 7, 2015.</p>
<p>This is the <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/christian-group-warns-that-the-world-will-end-today-2015-10">day the world will come to an end</a>, according to a Christian group based in Philadelphia.</p>
<p>It looks like we're all still here, though it's probably not the last time we'll be warned about Earth's annihilation.</p>
<p>Doomsday theorists and religious sects have been predicting The End for thousands of years.</p>
<p>Fortunately, all of these dates have come and gone uneventfully.</p>
<p>To maintain your faith that you'll live to see October 8, we've compiled 11 other dates when the world was supposed to end and didn't.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/christian-group-warns-that-the-world-will-end-today-2015-10" >The world will be destroyed today, according to a Christian group</a></strong></p>
<h3>A.D. 1000</h3>
<img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4ef1069feab8ead70200002e-400-300/ad-1000.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>Christian authorities believed the new millennium would be the second coming of Jesus.</p>
<p>In anticipation of his return, many people disposed of their belongings, left their jobs, and abandoned their homes.</p>
<p>When the date came and went with no apocalypse, folks who thought the end was near realized they had miscalculated Jesus' age and decided the world would actually end in A.D. 1033.</p>
<p>This, as we know, also turned out be a vast miscalculation.&nbsp;</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>February 1, 1524</h3>
<img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/50c251d3ecad045e67000002-400-300/february-1-1524.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>London astrologers freaked everybody out when they interpreted the alignment of planets in the constellation Pisces (a fish) to mean the world would be wiped out in a massive flood.</p>
<p>Tens of thousands of people sought refuge on higher ground and some people built arks. &nbsp;</p>
<p>The Great Flood never came.</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>May 19, 1780</h3>
<img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4ef1556169bedd965e000036-400-300/may-19-1780.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>On May 19, 1780, a heavy gloom fell over New England, prompting a religious group known as the Shakers to believe Judgment Day had come.</p>
<p>Though the unusual blackened sky, later called the "Dark Day," was most likely caused by a mix of smoke from forest fires and heavy fog, it sent the religious sect on a mission to spread their <a href="http://www.wisn.com/entertainment/27964086/detail.html">message of celibacy as the path to redemption</a>.</p></p>
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/failed-doomsday-predictions-ebible-fellowship-2015-10#/#march-21-1843--march-21-1844-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> http://www.businessinsider.com/10-things-the-world-was-most-curious-about-in-2012-2012-12Here's What The World Was Most Curious About In 2012http://www.businessinsider.com/10-things-the-world-was-most-curious-about-in-2012-2012-12
Fri, 28 Dec 2012 10:41:00 -0500Alyson Shontell
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4f91458becad040c6400005b-400-300/jennifer-lawrence-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Jennifer Lawrence " width="400" height="300" /></p><p>What did people want to learn about the most this year?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/wikipedia" class="hidden_link">Wikipedia</a> has gathered data on its <a href="http://toolserver.org/~johang/2012.html">most viewed articles of 2012</a>. It has created different lists for each language, but the most popular articles by far are in English.</p>
<p>The data shows we care a lot about movies, teenage pop stars, and tech companies.</p><h3>10. The Hunger Games</h3>
<img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4f27074569bedd8875000032-400-300/10-the-hunger-games.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><strong>What it is</strong>: The first book of a trilogy by Suzanne Collins. It takes place in future America, where 24 children are chosen to fight to the death in a computer-controlled arena for a reality TV show. It was released as a movie this year starring Jennifer Lawrence.</p>
<p><strong>Number of views:</strong> Its Wikipedia page was viewed 18,431,626 times this year.</p>
<p><strong>Excerpt from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunger_Games">the page:</a></strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em><strong>The Hunger Games</strong></em> is a 2008 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_adult_literature" title="Young adult literature" class="mw-redirect">young adult</a> novel by American writer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanne_Collins" title="Suzanne Collins">Suzanne Collins</a>. It is written <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-person_narrative" title="First-person narrative">in the voice of</a> 16-year-old <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katniss_Everdeen" title="Katniss Everdeen">Katniss Everdeen</a>, who lives in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-apocalyptic" title="Post-apocalyptic" class="mw-redirect">post-apocalyptic</a> nation of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panem" title="Panem" class="mw-redirect">Panem</a>, where the countries of North America once existed. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Capitol_%28Hunger_Games%29" title="The Capitol (Hunger Games)" class="mw-redirect">The Capitol</a>, a highly advanced metropolis, exercises political control over the rest of the nation. The Hunger Games are an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged&nbsp;12&ndash;18 from each of the twelve districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle to the death.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The book received mostly positive feedback from major reviewers and authors, including author <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King" title="Stephen King">Stephen King</a>. It was praised for its storyline and character development, though some reviewers have noted similarities between Collins' book and the Japanese novel <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Royale" title="Battle Royale">Battle Royale</a></em> (1999), as well as other works. In writing <em>The Hunger Games</em>, Collins drew upon <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology" title="Greek mythology">Greek mythology</a> and contemporary <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_television" title="Reality television">reality television</a> for thematic content. The novel won many awards, including the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Young_Reader_Medal" title="California Young Reader Medal">California Young Reader Medal</a>, and was named one of <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publishers_Weekly" title="Publishers Weekly">Publishers Weekly</a>'</em>s "Best Books of the Year" in 2008.</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>9. Google</h3>
<img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/4fc768d9ecad04bf37000002-400-300/9-google.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><strong>What it is:</strong> The giant search engine company created by Larry Page and Sergey Brin.</p>
<p><strong>Number of views:</strong> Its Wikipedia page received 18,508,719 views this year</p>
<p><strong>Excerpt from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google">the page:</a></strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Google Inc. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASDAQ" title="NASDAQ">NASDAQ</a>:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/goog" class="external text">GOOG</a>) is an American <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multinational_corporation" title="Multinational corporation">multinational</a> corporation which provides Internet-related products and services, including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_search" title="Internet search" class="mw-redirect">internet search</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing" title="Cloud computing">cloud computing</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software" title="Software">software</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising" title="Advertising">advertising</a> technologies.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google#cite_note-6"><span>[</span>6<span>]</span></a></sup> Advertising revenues from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdWords" title="AdWords">AdWords</a> generate almost all of the company's profits.<sup id="cite_ref-financialtables_7-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google#cite_note-financialtables-7"><span>[</span>7<span>]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google#cite_note-8"><span>[</span>8<span>]</span></a></sup></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The company was founded by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Page" title="Larry Page">Larry Page</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Brin" title="Sergey Brin">Sergey Brin</a> while both attended <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University" title="Stanford University">Stanford University</a>. Together, Brin and Page own about 16 percent of the company's stake. Google was first incorporated as a privately held company on September&nbsp;4, 1998, and its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initial_public_offering" title="Initial public offering">initial public offering</a> followed on August&nbsp;19, 2004. The company's mission statement from the outset was "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful"<sup id="cite_ref-corporate_9-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google#cite_note-corporate-9"><span>[</span>9<span>]</span></a></sup> and the company's unofficial slogan is "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_be_evil" title="Don't be evil">Don't be evil</a>".<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google#cite_note-10"><span>[</span>10<span>]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google#cite_note-11"><span>[</span>11<span>]</span></a></sup> In 2006, the company moved to its current headquarters in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_View,_California" title="Mountain View, California">Mountain View, California</a>.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>8. The Dark Knight Rises</h3>
<img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/50bbc4d2ecad047f7d000011-400-300/8-the-dark-knight-rises.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><strong>What it is:</strong> The third batman movie, starring Christian Bale, which was released this year.</p>
<p><strong>Number of views:</strong> Its Wikipedia page received 18,882,885 views this year</p>
<p><strong>Excerpt from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Knight_Rises">the page:</a></strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>The Dark Knight Rises</em> is a 2012 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhero_film" title="Superhero film">superhero film</a> directed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Nolan" title="Christopher Nolan">Christopher Nolan</a>, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Nolan" title="Jonathan Nolan">Jonathan Nolan</a> and the story with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_S._Goyer" title="David S. Goyer">David S. Goyer</a>. Featuring the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Comics" title="DC Comics">DC Comics</a> character <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman" title="Batman">Batman</a>, the film is the final installment in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Nolan_Batman_film_series" title="Christopher Nolan Batman film series" class="mw-redirect">Nolan's <em>Batman</em> film trilogy</a>, and it is the sequel to <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_Begins" title="Batman Begins">Batman Begins</a></em> (2005) and <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Knight_%28film%29" title="The Dark Knight (film)">The Dark Knight</a></em> (2008). <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Bale" title="Christian Bale">Christian Bale</a> reprises the lead role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, with a returning cast of his allies: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Caine" title="Michael Caine">Michael Caine</a> as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Pennyworth" title="Alfred Pennyworth">Alfred Pennyworth</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Oldman" title="Gary Oldman">Gary Oldman</a> as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gordon_%28comics%29" title="James Gordon (comics)">James Gordon</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Freeman" title="Morgan Freeman">Morgan Freeman</a> as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Fox" title="Lucius Fox">Lucius Fox</a>. The film introduces the characters of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catwoman" title="Catwoman">Selina Kyle</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Hathaway" title="Anne Hathaway">Anne Hathaway</a>), a cunning cat burglar in search of a way to escape her past, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bane_%28comics%29" title="Bane (comics)">Bane</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Hardy" title="Tom Hardy">Tom Hardy</a>), a militant revolutionary out to destroy <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotham_City" title="Gotham City">Gotham City</a>. The film deals with a Batman who has retired, but is drawn back into action by new threats to the city.</p></p>
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/10-things-the-world-was-most-curious-about-in-2012-2012-12#7-the-2012-phenomenon-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> http://www.businessinsider.com/a-handy-list-of-all-upcoming-end-of-the-world-events-2012-12A Handy List Of All Upcoming End-Of-The World Eventshttp://www.businessinsider.com/a-handy-list-of-all-upcoming-end-of-the-world-events-2012-12
Mon, 24 Dec 2012 13:17:00 -0500Dina Spector
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/50d896c3eab8eab073000002-400-/radiation-6.jpg" border="0" alt="Radiation" width="400" /></p><p>So we survived the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/world-survives-end-of-ancient-mayan-calendar-2012-12">2012 Mayan Apocalypse</a>.</p>
<p>That's great news.&nbsp;</p>
<p>But don't get too comfortable. There are loads of global doomsday predictions still floating about, including a "fiery end" planned for 2013, according to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rowdydow.co.uk/eotw/">Rowdydow's End of the World Notification Service</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The website provides a list of all upcoming end-of-the-world events.</p>
<p>Need to know when to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-with-a-long-shelf-life-2012-12">stock up on canned goods</a> or splurge on a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/15-best-cars-for-after-the-world-ends-2012-12#">post-Apocalyptic truck</a>?&nbsp;</p>
<p>Check out a screenshot of the schedule below, and <a href="http://www.rowdydow.co.uk/eotw/">visit rowdydow</a> for more information. <img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/50d89a0b69bedd0f67000000-831-792/screen%20shot%202012-12-24%20at%201.07.31%20pm.png" border="0" alt="Apocolypse" width="620" /></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-world-could-end-2012-12" >14 Ways The World Could REALLY Come To An End</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-with-a-long-shelf-life-2012-12" >10 Foods That Will Last Forever In The Post-Apocalyptic World</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/a-handy-list-of-all-upcoming-end-of-the-world-events-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/sad-the-world-didnt-end-you-arent-alone-2012-12Sad The World Didn't End? You Aren't Alonehttp://www.businessinsider.com/sad-the-world-didnt-end-you-arent-alone-2012-12
Mon, 24 Dec 2012 10:51:00 -0500Stephanie Pappas
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/50d87838ecad042f1e000001-400-/mayan-calendar-count-121219.jpg" border="0" alt="Mayan calender" width="400" /></p><p>You might expect the world not ending to be a cause for celebration. But for believers in doomsdays like yesterday's supposed Mayan apocalypse, the continued existence of the planet can be quite traumatic.</p>
<p>Yesterday (Dec. 21) was widely rumored online to be the end of the world, a misunderstanding of a <a href="http://www.livescience.com/25662-how-mayan-calendar-works.html">calendar used by the ancient Maya people</a>. Although the Maya made no doomsday predictions, some modern individuals and groups claimed they had foretold the end on Dec. 21, 2012.</p>
<p>Because the doomsday predictions were largely grassroots and spread online, the fallout from their failure is likely to be more varied than in doomsdays past, said Stephen Kent, a University of Alberta sociologist. Most of the time, doomsday predictions are made by charismatic leaders, often in cultlike settings. [<a href="http://www.livescience.com/11370-top-10-crazy-cults.html">Tales of the 10 Craziest Cults</a>]</p>
<p>"It appears that believers in the Mayan calendar apocalypse range from troubled individuals to groups following charismatic leaders," Kent told LiveScience. "Consequently, the fallout could be very complicated."</p>
<p><strong>When the world won't end</strong></p>
<p>After a <a href="http://www.livescience.com/14262-doomsday-predictions-fail.html">failed doomsday</a>, believers respond with a range of reactions, from disavowing their former apocalyptic beliefs to, surprisingly, believing more than ever. One classic reaction is the one made by Harold Camping, a radio preacher who first predicted Judgment Day in 1994. When that date didn't pan out, Camping made a common claim among doomsday prophets &mdash; the math had been wrong, but the ultimate prophecy would still prove true. He then predicted a widely publicized Judgment Day in May 2011, which also failed to occur. After that failure, Camping claimed the Judgment Day had been "spiritual" in nature and that the world would still end in a few short months.</p>
<p>When <a href="http://www.livescience.com/16663-camping-failed-doomsday-prediction-oct-21.html">that claim also failed</a>, Camping finally admitted his error. Rationalizing and attempting to explain away failure is common among failed doomsday groups, said Lorenzo DiTommaso, a professor of religion at Concordia University in Montreal. In some cases, groups even claim that their prayers saved the world.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Mayan apocalypse is likely to be different, if only because the Internet is bursting with dozens of contradictory prophecies about the day, DiTommaso told LiveScience.</p>
<p>"There are so many different predictions ridered onto the 2012 phenomenon, everyone's going to have a different response," DiTommaso said. "And because it's not a leader or a church or a doctrine or Karl Marx forecasting what the future is going to be like, there's not going to be a leader against whom you can forecast your dissatisfaction."</p>
<p><strong>Facing mortality</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.livescience.com/14179-doomsday-psychology-21-judgment-day-apocalypse.html">Doomsday believers</a> tend to pick up and get on with their lives more successfully if they have strong networks of family and friends, Kent said. The grassroots nature of the Mayan apocalypse predictions is therefore troubling, he said.</p>
<p>"The isolated individuals who encounter these predictions on the Internet may be terribly alone," he said. Some may be "really quite lost" in the wake of the uneventful day.</p>
<p>"It's not just the usual suspects," said DiTommaso of the 2012 apocalypse believers. "Lots of people can buy into 2012 for different reasons."</p>
<p>Part of the reason that failed doomsdays can be so traumatic, Kent said, is that they appear to be a way that people grapple with their mortality. Believers usually think they'll survive the end, whether by being one of God's chosen people, by building an underground bunker, or by hitching a ride on a friendly <a href="http://www.livescience.com/20645-ufo-sightings.html">UFO</a>. If you survive the end of the world, Kent said, you never have to face your own death.</p>
<p>"The believers always predict that their special knowledge will allow them to survive, that they will <a href="http://www.livescience.com/16750-science-death-archaeology-vampires-zombies.html">escape the mortality</a> that all of us face," Kent said. "And so far, everyone's been proven wrong on that fact."</p>
<p>However, hope springs eternal. Matching the dates of the Mayan calendar to our modern calendar is not an exact science, offering doomsday believers a "we got the math wrong" rationalization for the failed prediction.</p>
<p>Already, "there's a bit of chatter for 2015," DiTommaso said.</p>
<p><em>Follow Stephanie Pappas on <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/twitter">Twitter</a> </em><em><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/sipappas">@sipappas</a>&nbsp;</em><em>or LiveScience </em><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/LiveScience"><em>@livescience</em></a><em>. We're also on </em><em><a href="http://www.facebook.com/livescience">Facebook</a>&nbsp;</em><em>&amp; </em><a href="https://plus.google.com/101164570444913213957/posts"><em>Google+</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.livescience.com/16606-failed-doomsday-predictions-apocalypse.html">Oops! 11 Failed Doomsday Predictions</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.livescience.com/25141-mayan-apocalypse-doomsday-2012.html">Mayan Doomsday (Not): Coverage &amp; Countdown</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.livescience.com/17875-destroy-earth-doomsday.html">Top 10 Ways to Destroy Earth</a></li>
</ul><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-world-could-end-2012-12" >14 Ways The World Could REALLY Come To An End</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-with-a-long-shelf-life-2012-12" >10 Foods That Will Last Forever In The Post-Apocalyptic World</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sad-the-world-didnt-end-you-arent-alone-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/jell-o-takes-credit-for-preventing-mayan-apocalypse-pudding-2012-12JELL-O Takes Credit For Preventing The Mayan Apocalypse [THE BRIEF]http://www.businessinsider.com/jell-o-takes-credit-for-preventing-mayan-apocalypse-pudding-2012-12
Mon, 24 Dec 2012 08:33:00 -0500Laura Stampler
<p>Good morning, AdLand. Here's what you need to know today:</p>
<p><strong>JELL-O</strong>&nbsp;officially took credit for preventing last Friday's impending Mayan apocalypse by offering the gods 2,012 pudding cups as an alternate sacrifice. CP+B made the spots.</p>
<p><iframe width="590" height="332" frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pqU0pNHZl0A"></iframe></p>
<p><strong>Google&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://allthingsd.com/20121221/google-poaches-a-partners-top-marketer-samsung-exec-brian-wallace-goes-to-motorola/">poached Brian Wallace, Samsung's former VP strategic marketing</a>, to do marketing at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/motorola" class="hidden_link">Motorola</a>.</p>
<p>According to the&nbsp;<strong>FTC,&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ftc-reports-food-marketing-children-down-195-146169">marketing to kids is down 19.5 percent</a>.</p>
<p>But, the&nbsp;<strong>FTC&nbsp;</strong>also says that <a href="http://adage.com/article/news/ftc-tallies-kid-targeted-food-marketing-1-7-billion/238904/">$1.78 billion is spent on targeting kids with food marketing.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/lenovo-enters-final-stages-media-review-146160">Deutsch, Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners, and Digitas are entering the final stages</a> of<strong>&nbsp;Lenovo's</strong>&nbsp;media review. It spent $30 million on media last year with New@Ogilvy. Saatchi &amp; Saatchi will remain the company's lead global creative agency.</p>
<p><strong>The Cheesecake Factory&nbsp;</strong>sent people to <a href="http://www.adrants.com/2012/12/cheesecake-factory-uses-balloons-to.php?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+adrants+%28Adrants%29">walk all over Philadelphia popping balloons that smell like cheesecake</a>, offering strangers a free slice.</p>
<p>Here's&nbsp;<strong>Digiday's&nbsp;</strong>list of the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.digiday.com/brands/the-best-youtube-brand-channels-of-2012/">best YouTube brand channels of 2012.</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;The&nbsp;<strong>NY Times&nbsp;</strong>looks at how <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/24/business/media/selling-made-in-usa-but-very-carefully.html">companies are carefully promoting their goods as "Made in the U.S.A."</a></p>
<p><strong>Previously on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/business-insider" class="hidden_link">Business Insider</a> Advertising:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-sexiest-ads-of-2012-2012-12" class="title">See The 15 Sexiest Ads Of 2012</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-liked-facebook-photos-from-advertisers-in-2012-2012-12" class="title">The 20 Most-Liked Facebook Photos From Advertisers In 2012</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-15-most-bizarrely-unnecessary-sexy-christmas-costumes-2012-12" class="title">15 Unnecessarily Sexy Christmas Costumes</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nike-ad-by-suzy-favor-hamilton-2012-12" class="title">Here's The Nike Ad From 3-Time Olympian (And Vegas Call Girl) Suzy Favor Hamilton</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-guns-are-advertised-in-america-2012-12" class="title">Sex, Safety, And Machismo: How Guns Are Advertised In America</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gangnam-style-wonton-commericial-2012-12">Tiny Co-Star From 'Gangnam Style' Stars In Hilarious Korean Wonton Commercial</a></li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jell-o-takes-credit-for-preventing-mayan-apocalypse-pudding-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/un-denies-ark-rumors-2012-12At The Height Of China's Doomsday Hysteria, The UN Was Forced To Deny Rumors It Was Issuing Tickets For An 'Ark'http://www.businessinsider.com/un-denies-ark-rumors-2012-12
Fri, 21 Dec 2012 09:11:28 -0500Adam Taylor
<p>While the Mayan apocalypse theory appears to have been a dud, it's remarkable how far it spread.</p>
<p>In China, <a href="http://e.weibo.com/1709157165/zaKdtlalJ">the United Nations were forced to use their Weibo</a> account to deny rumors it was issuing tickets for an ark that would save people from the apocalypse. &ldquo;The United Nations sincerely has not issued any boat tickets,&rdquo; the message read (next to an angry emoticon).</p>
<p><a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1109930/un-denies-selling-china-doomsday-ark-tickets">AFP reports</a> that the tickets, featured below, had been "widely available on Chinese auction websites and each retail for around 10 yuan (US$1.60) &ndash; although their face value is 10 billion yuan".</p>
<p>Doomsday hysteria became a serious issue in China, with at least <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-and-the-almighty-god-cult-2012-12">500 members of one cult arrested</a> and a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-knife-attack-at-school-cctv-2012-12">knife attack at an elementary school</a> linked to the Mayan theories. A man in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-man-lu-zhenghais-doomsday-ark-2012-12">even spent his life savings building his own ark</a>.</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/50d46d186bb3f79265000021-433-1247/65dfab2djw1e013r95khej.jpg" border="0" alt="United Nations Ark" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/un-denies-ark-rumors-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/the-world-didnt-end-2012-12THE WORLD DIDN'T ENDhttp://www.businessinsider.com/the-world-didnt-end-2012-12
Fri, 21 Dec 2012 06:11:00 -0500Gus Lubin
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/50d44b33ecad04d93a00003a-620-/sunrise-9.jpg" border="0" alt="sunrise" width="620" /></p><p></p>
<p>According to modern interpretations of the ancient Mayan calendar, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-world-will-end-2012-12-b">the world was supposed to end this morning at 6:11 EST</a>.</p>
<p><span>Well, pinch me if I'm dreaming, but it looks like we're still here.</span></p>
<p><span>Which means those crazy theories were wrong.</span></p>
<p>Earth was NOT sucked into a giant black hole. The sun did NOT enter an apocalyptic "galactic phase." Solar flares did NOT reverse the poles and fry us. Earth did not smash into a giant planet called Nibiru.</p>
<p>The Mayan Apocalypse will go down as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-25-doomsday-predictions-2012-12">just another false doomsday theory</a>, along with those of Harold Camping, Pat Robertson, and many more.</p>
<p>Of course, some doomsday theories have yet to be disproved, so don't sell your <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-with-a-long-shelf-life-2012-12">canned food</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/15-best-cars-for-after-the-world-ends-2012-12">post-apocalyptic vehicle</a> yet.</p>
<p><em>See what the Mayan Apocalypse could have looked like below:</em></p>
<script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/MDlhYjRhYmQyMjA2NWM2Yzg4YTJkYzcz" type="text/javascript"></script>
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<p><strong>DON'T MISS: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-nostradamus-predictions-2011-3">14 Predictions By Nostradamus, The Greatest Analyst Ever &gt;</a></strong></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-world-didnt-end-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/world-survives-end-of-ancient-mayan-calendar-2012-12The Mayan Calendar Has Ended, And We're All Still Here!http://www.businessinsider.com/world-survives-end-of-ancient-mayan-calendar-2012-12
Fri, 21 Dec 2012 06:11:00 -0500Dina Spector
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/50d4b3a169beddda07000017-400-/earth-moon-space.jpg" border="0" alt="earth moon space" width="400" /></p><p>Seconds ago, the ancient Mayan calendar ran out.&nbsp;</p>
<p>For some, this meant the world would also end.&nbsp;</p>
<p>But we're all still here! YAY!</p>
<p>Of course, scientists already <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-world-will-not-end-on-dec-21-2012-11">knew that Earth had nothing to worry about</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Mayans never predicted an Apocalypse. This is just when they got lazy with their record keeping and stopped updating the long-form version of their 5,172-year calendar. Just as our calendar starts the year fresh by repeating all 12 months starting Jan. 1, the Mayan calendar now begins another long cycle. &nbsp;</p>
<p>The Mayan calendar officially ended at the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dec-21-2012-winter-solstice-2012-12">start of the winter solstice</a> on Dec. 21, 2012, at 6:11 a.m. EST. So, if you still need something to mope about after not dying, it's now the official beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.&nbsp;</p>
<p>And just because we escaped The End, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-world-could-end-2012-12">doesn't mean you can just walk around worry-free</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>There's still the looming threat of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/16-irrefutable-signs-that-climate-change-is-real-2012-11">global climate change</a>, a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-some-stats-on-all-the-worlds-nuclear-weapons-2012-12">proliferation of nuclear weapons</a>, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/when-will-the-next-nightmare-hurricane-hit-the-us-2012-8">cataclysmic hurricanes</a> to shake your nerves.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>See what the Mayan Apocalypse could have looked like below:</em></p>
<script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/MDlhYjRhYmQyMjA2NWM2Yzg4YTJkYzcz" type="text/javascript"></script>
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<noscript>&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Please enable Javascript to watch this video&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;</noscript><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-with-a-long-shelf-life-2012-12" >10 Foods With An Extremely Long Shelf Life</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-world-could-end-2012-12" >14 Ways The World Could REALLY Come To An End</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/world-survives-end-of-ancient-mayan-calendar-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/marketers-and-advertisers-apocalypse-2012-12The Mayan Apocalypse Is This Year's Best Marketing Opportunityhttp://www.businessinsider.com/marketers-and-advertisers-apocalypse-2012-12
Fri, 21 Dec 2012 04:05:09 -0500Katie Little
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<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/50576b8b6bb3f74478000008-400-300/mayan-1.jpg" border="0" alt="mayan ruins, adventure hotels" /><a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/where">Where</a> the Mayans saw the end of time, marketers see dollar signs.</p>
<p>As ancient doomsday predictions draw near, a number of hotels and restaurants are launching tongue-in-cheek promotions to profit from the fiery apocalypse forecasts surrounding Dec. 21, one Mayan Calendar's end date.</p>
<p>The offers range from end-of-days themed vacation packages to restaurant menus encouraging customers to live it up one last time.</p>
<p>Step one of apocalypse preparation is returning some of those holiday gifts to free up additional end-of-days capital because many hotel offers this doomsday require deep pockets (but what does money mean anyway when the world is ending?!).</p>
<p>For $79,000 per couple, the <strong><a href="http://travel.justluxe.com/travel-news/feature-1825300.php" target="_blank" class="inline_asset" data-nodeid="100307363">Rosewood Mayakoba</a> </strong>in Riviera Maya offers "The Ultimate New Beginning" package, which includes a spiritual cleansing with a Mayan shaman priest along with a private helicopter ride to a tour of architectural sites led by an archaeologist.</p>
<p>At the <a href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/MAR%2C%20" target="_blank" class="inline_asset" data-nodeid="100307375"><strong>J.W. Marriott</strong></a> resort in Cancun, guests can visit the ancient ruins of Chichen Itza and indulge in Mayan-inspired spa treatments.</p>
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<p>Stateside, hotels are also trying to cash in on the Mayan hype. For superstitious starting price of $666, <a href="http://www.thekeating.com/end-of-the-world.asp" target="_blank" class="inline_asset" data-nodeid="100307404"><strong>The Keating</strong></a> in San Diego is selling the "End of the World" package complete with a last supper and fitness classes aimed at outrunning zombies. Christos Brooks, the Keating's standards and operations director, drew the idea for the promotion from Britney Spears's song "Till the World Ends."</p>
<p>"That was pretty much my anthem last year, and this year we were talking about promotion ideas for the end of the world," Brooks said. "It's always a slow time of the year for San Diego, and that's where it came about."</p>
<p>The package has sold well so far with 15 rooms booked, making it one of the year's most popular, Brooks said.</p>
<p>"The one thing that people really haven't been into is going to the gym the next day," he added. "No one's really given a reason for it, but the only thing that people have asked about is if the gym is required."</p>
<p>The Keating is also offering a post-doomsday special for guests.</p>
<p>"If you pre-pay for your room after the 21st, you get a 40 percent discount so it's kind of a gamble," he said. "You can pay for your room and if the world doesn't end, you get a great bargain. But if it does, you lose your money. Based on the booking we have seen so far the world's going to continue to go on."</p>
<p>For $12,021, <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/The%20Curtis%20Hotel%20Doomsday%20Party" target="_blank" class="inline_asset" data-nodeid="100307387"><strong>The Curtis Hotel</strong></a> offered a "Party Like There's No-To-Maya" special that included rental of an entire floor of the Denver hotel along with Doomsday supplies including anti-radiation tablets, freeze-dried food and gas masks. A tattoo artist was also included if guests wanted to mark the end of the world with some fresh ink.</p>
<p>Kate Thompson, the hotel's director of sales and marketing, said the package did not end up selling, but it did generate curiosity, which is often one of the main goals for an whimsical promotion like the Curtis'.</p>
<p>"It's a great coup to us to be able to get our name out there, and the more press we have the better it is and the more exposure we get, the better it is for us," Thompson said. "The exposure's worth just as much as actually selling that package."</p>
<p>The buzz surrounding the Mayan doomsday predictions allows marketers an opportunity to "piggyback" their offers on the highly publicized event, said Chekitan Dev, an associate professor of strategic marketing and brand management at Cornell's School of Hotel Administration.</p>
<p>"With the media creating a lot of hype, a lot of the market preparation is already done for product and service marketers so it's then a matter of capitalizing on this media opportunity," Dev said.</p>
<p>Mayan-related promotions can be a positive move for brands, even luxury ones, if the offers are well thought out, offer consumers something special and target a market that is likely to respond, Dev said.</p>
<p>"Luxury hotels, not wanting to go for the macabre, can use this as a way to promote cultural tourism, a fast growing segment with a higher spend than average, by showcasing Mayan culture by having special attractions, speakers, events around this event," he added.</p>
<p>Dev cautions companies against using what he calls "soft-sell" offers, such as merely spa packages that give "the impression that they have not put a lot of thought into this."</p>
<p>It makes sense that marketers would use any opportunity they can to drum up business, but what makes consumer prone to bite at these playful promotions?</p>
<p>Jonah Berger, an assistant professor of marketing at the <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/wharton">Wharton</a> School of the <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/university-of-pennsylvania">University of Pennsylvania</a>, has studied why certain products get more word-of-mouth exposure than others and why online content goes viral as some Doomsday-related coverage has.</p>
<p>"We've done research that shows around Halloween, when you ask people to name products, they are more likely to name orange products around that time of year," Berger said.</p>
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<p>Similar to this Halloween association, people's decision making may be affected when Mayan culture is top of mind, he added. Even with the publicity is negative, it can help boost sales.</p>
<p>"Just like in this case, you might find yourself at a Mexican restaurant and don't know why, we find that negative publicity can sometimes increase sales because that makes that product top of mind," Berger said.</p>
<p>To capitalize on the occasion, restaurants are also hosting events around the country. <strong>T.G.I.Friday's</strong> restaurants will have a "Last Friday" menu that packs a caloric heavy-weight punch and urges consumers to make their last meals great and "go out with a full stomach" (because diets won't matter in the apocalypse, right?!).</p>
<p>At <strong>Margaritas Mexican Restaurant's</strong> "End of the World" party, there will be a "if you were the last man on earth" pick-up line contest and "sitting here in limbo" limbo competition. The company has also created an app that enables users to create postcards to share with friends and detail how they will spend their last earthly moments.</p>
<p>"It seems like a natural fit; in difficult times, bars tend to do well," said Patrick Dowling, the restaurant chain's marketing coordinator. "It stands to reason that if the world is going to end, we're going to have a pretty good apocalypse eve."</p>
<p>So far, about 100 messages have been created so far and posted on <strong><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100005111" class="inline_quotes" data-gdsid="139619" data-inline-quote-symbol="FB">Facebook</a></strong>, including "The end of the world is coming. Repent and drink more margaritas" and "Kevin Youkilis on the Yankees? What more proof do you need the world is ending?"</p>
<p>Breweries are also getting in <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/50029587" class="inline_asset" data-nodeid="50029587"><strong>on the action</strong></a>. California-based <strong>Stone Brewing Company</strong> has released an "enjoy by 12.21.12" IPA that is "brewed to not last." A leading Canadian craft brewery Unibroue invites drinkers to pledge to raise their glasses at midnight on Dec. 20 "for one last toast to the end of the world."</p>
<p>For consumers, the end-of-days prediction will offer a chance to indulge even if only a very small set of celebrants believe it is the last time to spoil themselves, Berger said.</p>
<p>"People want to go out to dinner," he added. "They want to take fun vacations. I don't think they really think the world's going to end, but it's a good excuse to behave like it will."</p>
<p>And so far, efforts to drive traffic to Mexico appear to be paying off.</p>
<p>In the tourism district of Riviera Maya, which contains ancient Mayan ruins, <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/1506641" class="inline_quotes" data-gdsid="44346" data-inline-quote-symbol="EXPE"><strong>Expedia's</strong></a> hotel bookings are up 44 percent for the dates that include Dec. 21. Meanwhile, Cancun hotel bookings have risen 7.5 percent for the period.</p>
<p>Outside of Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador &mdash; two other countries with Mayan roots &mdash; have each seen hotel bookings surge more than 50 percent.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/1511872" class="inline_quotes" data-gdsid="28112" data-inline-quote-symbol="PCLN">Priceline</a> </strong>also reported a boost in sales compared to last year. During the last three months, sales have jumped 16 percent compared to the year-ago period.</p>
<p><a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/expedia">Expedia</a> added that Americans are continuing to book tickets and vacations for well after Dec. 21 so it appears that they are in fact confident that the end of times isn't imminent. But even if the Mayans do turn out to be wrong, one thing is certain &mdash; marketers will be ready to profit from the next dire prediction faster than you can say <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Fiscal-Cliff-Cookbook-ebook/dp/B00AGR5Y5S/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1355340127&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=The%20Fiscal%20Cliff%20Cookbook" target="_blank" class="inline_asset" data-nodeid="100307420">"The Fiscal Cliff Cookbook."</a></p>
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</div><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/marketers-and-advertisers-apocalypse-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/the-mayan-apocalypse-by-the-numbers-2012-12Everything You Need To Know About The Mayan Apocalypse, By The Numbershttp://www.businessinsider.com/the-mayan-apocalypse-by-the-numbers-2012-12
Thu, 20 Dec 2012 20:51:00 -0500Harold Maass
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4ff713ddeab8ea751e00000d-400-300/doomsday.jpg" border="0" alt="Doomsday" /></p><p>Many Americans are confident that the world isn't really going to cease to exist on Friday, Dec. 21, the day of the supposed Mayan apocalypse.</p>
<p>Still, plenty of people around the world are <a href="http://theweek.com/article/index/237942/6-crazy-ways-people-around-the-world-are-prepping-for-doomsday">taking precautions</a> ahead of the day when the Mayan calendar ends and, the theory goes, so does life as we know it.</p>
<p>Here, a look at some of the unusual happenings, by the numbers:</p>
<p><strong>100</strong><br />Members of the "Almighty God" Christian cult in China who have been <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/cult-members-busted-warning-people-mayan-apocalypse-article-1.1222682#ixzz2FQs2paOS">arrested for pestering people</a> with warnings about the Mayan apocalypse<br /><br /><strong>72</strong><br />Consecutive days of natural disasters the cultists are telling people will begin on Dec. 21<br /><br /><strong>5</strong><br />Theories <em>LiveScience</em> found explaining exactly <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50238037/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.UNC92neDl8E"><em>how</em> life on Earth will be snuffed out</a>. We'll be toasted by a massive solar storm; Earth's magnetic poles will flip-flop catastrophically; Planet X (a nonexistent "rogue planet") will smash into us; the planets will align in a way that ruins everything (<a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/nasa">NASA</a> says no planetary alignment is coming, and we've survived past ones); or, there will be some kind of massive global blackout, possibly due to an unprecedented alignment of Earth and Sun (again, NASA says, no).<br /><br /><strong>$49,000</strong><br />Cost of <a href="http://theweek.com/article/index/237975/www.guardian.co.uk/world/shortcuts/2012/dec/18/mayan-apocalypse-everyone-in-fever">fiberglass survival pods</a> being sold by a Chinese furniture maker<br /><br /><strong>$100</strong><br />Price of a fancy margarita &mdash; made with DeLe&oacute;n reposado tequila, Grand Marnier 100 year, agave nectar, and real gold flakes &mdash; being offered by Iron Cactus, a Mexican grill in Austin, for people <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/18/mayan-apocalypse-food_n_2322190.html">planning to drink like there's no tomorrow </a><br /><br /><strong>12</strong><br />Percentage of Americans who believe the end of the world really is upon us<br /><br /><strong>14</strong><br />Percentage of people in the world who <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/12/everything-you-wanted-know-about-mayan-apocalypse-were-really-afraid-ask">think the planet will be destroyed</a> in our lifetime<br /><br /><strong>150</strong><br />Police officers who will be&nbsp;<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/9753657/Mayan-apocalypse-French-village-pleads-with-fanatics-not-to-visit-Bugarach.html">turning visitors away</a>&nbsp;from Bugarach, a French village near a mountain peak where, rumor has it, alien spacecraft will emerge on the last day and rescue everyone nearby<br /><br /><strong>200</strong><br />Population of Bugarach<br /><br /><strong>1</strong><br />Number of cameras that will be <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/12/18/mayan-apocalypse-2012-slooh-webcast_n_2320450.html?ncid=GEP">broadcasting the (potential) action live</a>, from space. The Slooh Space Camera is designed to help the public watch for the arrival of mysterious, deadly planets, giant tides, blackouts, and other potentially (and literally) Earth-shattering phenomena.<br /><br /><strong>144,000</strong><br />Days in the current cycle, the 13th Mayan bak'tun, which ends on Friday. <br /><br /><strong>70 octillion</strong><br />Years the Mayan <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/12/everything-you-wanted-know-about-mayan-apocalypse-were-really-afraid-ask">calendar actually continues</a> after this week, according to David Stuart, a professor of Mesoamerican art at the University of Texas at Austin. It simply enters a new cycle. Westerners are the ones who came up with the doomsday theory. "The Maya never said anything about the end of the world or anything about a great change in the universe on that date," Stuart said.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-mayan-apocalypse-by-the-numbers-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/what-the-end-of-the-world-will-look-like-2012-125 Ways The World Might Endhttp://www.businessinsider.com/what-the-end-of-the-world-will-look-like-2012-12
Thu, 20 Dec 2012 18:24:00 -0500Dina Spector and Will Wei
<p>Depending on how you interpret the ancient Mayan calendar, the world may or may not end on Dec. 21, 2012.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Whether or not you think the end is coming, take a look below at five potential world-ending scenarios:</p>
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<p><em>Produced by William Wei</em></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/failed-doomsday-predictions-2012-12" >10 Times The World Was Supposed To End And Didn't</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-the-end-of-the-world-will-look-like-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/artists-hippies-lawyers-and-businessmen-are-flocking-to-ancient-mayan-ruins-2012-12Artists, Hippies, Lawyers And Businessmen Are Flocking To Ancient Mayan Ruinshttp://www.businessinsider.com/artists-hippies-lawyers-and-businessmen-are-flocking-to-ancient-mayan-ruins-2012-12
Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:13:00 -0500Jennifer Welsh
<p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/20/us-maya-calendar-idUSBRE8BJ16320121220?feedType=RSS&amp;feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&amp;utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FoddlyEnoughNews+%28Reuters+Oddly+Enough%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader">According to Reuters</a> people are gathering at the ancient Mayan holy sites as Doomsday rolls around.</p>
<p>Places like the popular amusement-park like ancient Mayan ruins of <span id="articleText">Chichen Itza</span> in southern Mexico are filling with people flocking to the site. Supposedly, thousands of people around the world will converge on the ancient Temple of the Serpent god Kukulkan. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/20/us-maya-calendar-idUSBRE8BJ16320121220?feedType=RSS&amp;feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&amp;utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FoddlyEnoughNews+%28Reuters+Oddly+Enough%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader">Reuters reports on the crazy</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">To many of the artists, hippies, lawyers and businessmen congregating in the nerve center of 12/21/2012 - the Maya ruins of Chichen Itza in southern Mexico - the day will be the culmination of a spiritual journey, the dawn of a new consciousness, or the wellspring of untapped energies.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Or even all the above.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"There is an explosion of consciousness through this," said Shambala Songstar, a gray-haired Californian musician who gave his age as "eternal."</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"We are becoming billionaires of energy. Opening to receive more light and more joy," he said.</p>
<p>People are also going a little crazy in Michigan where 33 counties have closed their schools, and in China, where <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-arrests-mayan-apocalypse-believers-2012-12">members of the "Almighty God" cult are being arrested</a> for spreading rumors that the doomsday will cause a three-day blackout.</p>
<p>People are also gathering in France, at the Pic de Bagarach a mountain that locals think will survive the apocalypse. Others in Argintinaare meeting at Cerro Uritorco.</p>
<p>If you are planning to wait for the hellfire to rain down sitting in front of your computer, enjoy this:</p>
<p><object width="620" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pd9_Zh5eOG8?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pd9_Zh5eOG8?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="349" width="620" /></object></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/doomsday-theories-2012-12" >How Doomsayers Think The World Is Going To End</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-world-could-end-2012-12" >14 Ways The World Could REALLY Come To An End</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/artists-hippies-lawyers-and-businessmen-are-flocking-to-ancient-mayan-ruins-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/6-movies-for-the-end-of-the-world-2012-126 Movies For The End Of The Worldhttp://www.businessinsider.com/6-movies-for-the-end-of-the-world-2012-12
Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:53:00 -0500Scot Meslow
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/50d3726ceab8eae45e00000c-400-300/2012-movie.png" border="0" alt="2012 movie" width="400" height="300" /></p><p>If you forgot to flip the page on your Mayan calendar this month, we have some bad news.</p>
<p>The world is coming to an end on Dec. 21 thanks to the preordained Mayan Apocalypse. At least, that's what dubious sources have spent the past few years alleging.</p>
<p>But if the apocalypse means widespread fear and panic to the average person, it means something else to Hollywood: Great entertainment.</p>
<p>So just in case tomorrow <em>isn't</em> the last day Earth exists, here are six recent movies that will let you the enjoy the end of the world vicariously.</p><h3>1. Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (2012)</h3>
<p><p>It's probably too late for you to find your own new friend for the end of the world, but you can revel in this underrated, underseen romantic dramedy, which stars Steve Carrell and Keira Knightley as neighbors spending their last weeks together before an asteroid destroys Earth.</p>
<p><iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/T43InzvBm-k"></iframe></p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>2. Melancholia (2011)</h3>
<p><p>If the thought of Earth's complete obliteration bums you out, you'll feel right at home with <em>Melancholia</em>.</p>
<p>Kirsten Dunst plays a deeply depressed young woman whose life is altered by the announcement that a mysterious planet, dubbed "Melancholia," has emerged from behind the sun &mdash; and may be on a collision course with Earth.</p>
<p><iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wzD0U841LRM"></iframe></p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>3. The Road (2009)</h3>
<p><p>Doomsday enthusiasts can't agree on the form the so-called "Mayan Apocalypse" will take, which makes <em>The Road</em> &mdash; a post-apocalyptic film in which the cause of the cataclysm is never explained &mdash; ideal viewing.</p>
<p>Viggo Mortensen stars as a man trying to protect his son from cannibals, scavengers, and thieves.</p>
<p><iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hbLgszfXTAY"></iframe></p></p>
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/6-movies-for-the-end-of-the-world-2012-12#4-2012-2009-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-man-lu-zhenghais-doomsday-ark-2012-12Here's The Ark A Chinese Man Built To Survive The Mayan Apocalypsehttp://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-man-lu-zhenghais-doomsday-ark-2012-12
Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:50:34 -0500Adam Taylor
<p>Chinese man Lu Zhenghai reportedly spent his life savings building this 70-foot-by-50-foot ark-like vessel, according to the AP.</p>
<p>Lu, who lives in&nbsp;Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is just one of many in China who believe Mayan prophecies that say the world will end on December 21.</p>
<p>At least <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-and-the-almighty-god-cult-2012-12">500 members of one cult who were spreading theories been arrested</a>, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-knife-attack-at-school-cctv-2012-12">police say a man who attacked elementary school children</a> with a knife was influenced by the doomsday theories.</p>
<p>These mid-construction photos are from November 24.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/50d3775369beddd60800001b-900-675/ap865066129283.jpg" border="0" alt="Mayan Ark China" /></p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/50d37768eab8ea2169000014-900-675/ap268615551732.jpg" border="0" alt="Mayan Ark China" /></p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/50d37786eab8eae16b000007-900-675/ap487101676397.jpg" border="0" alt="Mayan Ark China" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-man-lu-zhenghais-doomsday-ark-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/china-and-the-almighty-god-cult-2012-12Why China Is So Terrified Of A Mayan Doomsday Culthttp://www.businessinsider.com/china-and-the-almighty-god-cult-2012-12
Thu, 20 Dec 2012 09:28:00 -0500Adam Taylor
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/50d31ed4ecad04db08000014-401-300/china-lightning.jpg" border="0" alt="China Lightning" width="401" height="300" /></p><p>Earlier this week, China began arresting members of a cult who had been spreading Mayan prophecy rumors that state the world would end on December 21.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-arrests-mayan-apocalypse-believers-2012-12">By Monday over 100 members</a> of the "Almighty God" cult (also known as "Eastern lightning") had been arrested. Newer figures <a href="http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_15811/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=W3DozUkC">suggest over 500 have been arrested in this crackdown</a>, while the group itself says over 2,000 have <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,181681,00.html">been put in jail since 1995</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://shanghaiist.com/2012/12/20/so_who_exactly_are_the_almighty_god.php">James Griffiths at Shanghaiist</a> has taken a look at the group:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The cult, which originated in Heilongjiang and teaches that Jesus "has returned as a plain-looking, 30-year-old Chinese woman who lives in hiding and has never been photographed", have been accused of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/1398252/34-Chinese-Christians-kidnapped-by-evil-cult.html" target="_blank" title="Opens in a new window">abducting and brainwashing prospective believers</a>. Reports also suggest that cultists have attacked mainstream Christian churches who would not accept the 'third testament' to the Bible written by the cult's lady-Jesus.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Members of 'Eastern Lightning' are typically drawn from peasant communities with low levels of education and generally wholly legitimate gripes against the government, who the group's message of an impending reckoning for the 'wicked' understandably appeals to. According to Protestant group China for Jesus, 'Eastern Lightning' has over a million members.</p>
<p>The Chinese authorities perhaps have reason to be worried about cults: a 19th century leader who claimed to be the brother of Jesus Christ and created the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with 30 million followers sparked a brutal war. Modern China cracked down on the Falun Gong spiritual movement in the late 1990s.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2012/12/chinese-mayan-doomsday-cult.html">As Evan Osnos notes</a>, "cults" and "spiritual movements" have become an aspect of life in the post-Communist world, where "many in China have begun to hunt for something to believe."</p>
<p>"At times, it can feel like half the people at a dinner table are trying out a new guru," Osnos wrote for the New Yorker this week.</p>
<p>While some of these cults may seem absurd, China may be right to take them seriously. As <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-knife-attack-at-school-cctv-2012-12">a knife attack at an elementary school</a>, later linked to doomsday theories, shows, they can have horrifying real-world effects.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-and-the-almighty-god-cult-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/how-world-will-end-2012-12-bHow The World Will End http://www.businessinsider.com/how-world-will-end-2012-12-b
Thu, 20 Dec 2012 08:29:00 -0500Henry Blodget
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/50d0cb456bb3f71418000019-394-302/armageddon3-1.jpg" border="0" alt="armageddon3" width="394" height="302" /></p><p>As you may know, some people believe the world is going to end on Friday, December 21.</p>
<p>It's already <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/its-december-21-2012-in-new-zealand-and-the-world-still-exists-2012-12">Friday, December 21, in New Zealand, and the world hasn't ended</a>, but sharp doomsayers on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/twitter" class="hidden_link">Twitter</a> point out that the Mayans were on Central time not New Zealand time.</p>
<p>And the Mayans are the ones everyone's deferring to on this.</p>
<p>The people who believe the world is about to end, after all, believe it because they believe that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/end-of-world-2012-12">some Mayan writings said the world will end on December 21, 2012</a>.</p>
<p>Other people, happily, disagree. About the world ending. About what the Mayan writings said. Everything.</p>
<p>In any event...</p>
<p>You probably already know that some people believe the world is going to end on Friday. But you may not <em>how</em> the world is supposed to end.</p>
<p>You will perhaps be relieved to hear that there is some disagreement about this, too.</p>
<p>A lot of disagreement, actually.</p>
<p><span>Basically, there are four main theories:<br /></span></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>We will get sucked into a black hole <br /></strong></li>
<li><span><strong>The sun will pass through a "galactic plane" that will cause everything to go haywire</strong></span></li>
<li><span><strong>Solar flares will reverse the poles and fry us</strong></span></li>
<li><strong>We will smash into a planet called Nibiru</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong></strong>The planet Nibiru, you may be surprised to learn, was not invented by L. Ron Hubbard<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/scientology" class="hidden_link"></a>.</p>
<p>You will probably be relieved to hear that astronomers are, to put it mildly, highly skeptical that we will get sucked into a black hole or fried or clobbered by another planet on Friday. They also note that the sun "passing through galactic planes" is something that takes millions of years.</p>
<p>But, still, you might be curious about this Armageddon thing.</p>
<p>Thankfully, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon">Wikipedia is brimming with details:</a></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Some people have interpreted the galactic alignment apocalyptically, claiming that when it occurs, it will somehow create a combined <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitation" title="Gravitation">gravitational</a> effect between the Sun and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermassive_black_hole" title="Supermassive black hole">supermassive black hole</a> at the center of our galaxy (known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagittarius_A*" title="Sagittarius A*">Sagittarius A*</a>), thus creating havoc on Earth.<sup id="cite_ref-krupp_98-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-krupp-98"><span>[</span>98<span>]</span></a></sup> Apart from the fact noted above that the "galactic alignment" already happened in 1998, the Sun's apparent path through the zodiac as seen from Earth does not take it near the true galactic center, but rather several degrees above it.<sup id="cite_ref-starry_72-1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-starry-72"><span>[</span>72<span>]</span></a></sup> Even if this were not the case, Sagittarius A* is 30,000 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_year" title="Light year" class="mw-redirect">light years</a> from Earth and would have to be more than 6 million times closer to cause any gravitational disruption to Earth's Solar System.<sup id="cite_ref-Questions_answered_99-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-Questions_answered-99"><span>[</span>99<span>]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-What_would_happen_if_a_supermassive_black_hole_came_close_to_the_Earth.3F_100-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-What_would_happen_if_a_supermassive_black_hole_came_close_to_the_Earth.3F-100"><span>[</span>100<span>]</span></a></sup> This reading of the alignment was included on the History Channel documentary, <em>Decoding the Past</em>. However, John Major Jenkins has complained that a science fiction writer co-authored the documentary, and he went on to characterize it as "45&nbsp;minutes of unabashed doomsday hype and the worst kind of inane sensationalism".<sup id="cite_ref-How_Not_to_Make_a_2012_Documentary_101-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-How_Not_to_Make_a_2012_Documentary-101"><span>[</span>101<span>]</span></a></sup></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Some believers in a 2012 doomsday have used the term "galactic alignment" to describe a very different phenomenon proposed by some scientists to explain a pattern in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_extinction" title="Mass extinction" class="mw-redirect">mass extinctions</a> supposedly observed in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_record" title="Fossil record" class="mw-redirect">fossil record</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-fraser_102-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-fraser-102"><span>[</span>102<span>]</span></a></sup> According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva_Hypothesis" title="Shiva Hypothesis">this hypothesis</a>, mass extinctions are not random, but recur every 26 million years. To account for this, it suggests that vertical oscillations made by the Sun on its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_year" title="Galactic year">250-million-year orbit</a> of the galactic center cause it to regularly pass through the galactic plane. When the Sun's orbit takes it outside the galactic plane which bisects the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_disc" title="Galactic disc" class="mw-redirect">galactic disc</a>, the influence of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_tide" title="Galactic tide">galactic tide</a> is weaker. However, when re-entering the galactic disc&mdash;as it does every 20&ndash;25&nbsp;million years&mdash;it comes under the influence of the far stronger "disc tides", which, according to mathematical models, increase the flux of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud" title="Oort cloud">Oort cloud</a> comets into the inner Solar System by a factor of 4, thus leading to a massive increase in the likelihood of a devastating comet impact.<sup id="cite_ref-Perturbing_the_Oort_Cloud_103-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-Perturbing_the_Oort_Cloud-103"><span>[</span>103<span>]</span></a></sup> However, this "alignment" takes place over tens of millions of years, and could never be timed to an exact date.<sup id="cite_ref-Galactic_Plane_104-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-Galactic_Plane-104"><span>[</span>104<span>]</span></a></sup> Evidence shows that the Sun passed through the plane bisecting the galactic disc only three million years ago and is now moving farther above it.<sup id="cite_ref-The_Sun.27s_motion_perpendicular_to_the_galactic_plane_105-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-The_Sun.27s_motion_perpendicular_to_the_galactic_plane-105"><span>[</span>105<span>]</span></a></sup></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">A third suggested alignment is some sort of planetary <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjunction_%28astronomy_and_astrology%29" title="Conjunction (astronomy and astrology)" class="mw-redirect">conjunction</a> occurring on 21 December 2012; however, there will be no conjunction on that date.<sup id="cite_ref-Nibiru_and_Doomsday_2012:_Questions_and_Answers_106-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-Nibiru_and_Doomsday_2012:_Questions_and_Answers-106"><span>[</span>106<span>]</span></a></sup> Multi-planet alignments did occur in both 2000 and 2010, each with no ill result for the Earth.<sup id="cite_ref-Planetary_Alignment_107-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-Planetary_Alignment-107"><span>[</span>107<span>]</span></a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter" title="Jupiter">Jupiter</a> is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Solar_System_objects_by_size#Objects_above_.E2.89.88300_km_in_radius" title="List of Solar System objects by size">largest</a> planet in the Solar System; larger than all other planets combined. When Jupiter is near <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_%28planets%29" title="Opposition (planets)">opposition</a>, the difference in gravitational force that the Earth experiences is less than 1% of the force that the Earth feels daily from the Moon.<sup id="cite_ref-Plait-alignment_108-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-Plait-alignment-108"><span>[</span>108<span>]</span></a></sup></p>
<h3 style="padding-left: 30px;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Geomagnetic_reversal">Geomagnetic reversal</span></h3>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Another idea tied to 2012 involves a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal" title="Geomagnetic reversal">geomagnetic reversal</a> (often incorrectly referred to as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_shift" title="Pole shift" class="mw-redirect">pole shift</a> by proponents), possibly triggered by a massive <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_flare" title="Solar flare">solar flare</a>, that would release an energy equal to 100&nbsp;billion <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombs" title="Atomic bombs" class="mw-redirect">atomic bombs</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-2012:_No_Killer_Solar_Flare_109-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-2012:_No_Killer_Solar_Flare-109"><span>[</span>109<span>]</span></a></sup> This belief is supposedly supported by observations that the Earth's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_field" title="Magnetic field">magnetic field</a> is weakening,<sup id="cite_ref-Rapidly_changing_flows_in_the_Earth.27s_core_110-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-Rapidly_changing_flows_in_the_Earth.27s_core-110"><span>[</span>110<span>]</span></a></sup> which could precede a reversal of the north and south <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poles_of_astronomical_bodies" title="Poles of astronomical bodies">magnetic poles</a>, and the arrival of the next <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_maximum" title="Solar maximum">solar maximum</a>, which is expected sometime around 2012.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Most scientific estimates, however, say that geomagnetic reversals take between 1,000 and 10,000 years to complete,<sup id="cite_ref-Merrill_111-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-Merrill-111"><span>[</span>111<span>]</span></a></sup> and do not start on any particular date.<sup id="cite_ref-Geomagnetic_Reversal_112-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-Geomagnetic_Reversal-112"><span>[</span>112<span>]</span></a></sup> Furthermore, the U.S. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Oceanic_and_Atmospheric_Administration" title="National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> now predicts that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_maximum" title="Solar maximum">solar maximum</a> will peak in May 2013, not 2012, and that it will be fairly weak, with a below-average number of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunspots" title="Sunspots" class="mw-redirect">sunspots</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-New_Solar_Cycle_Prediction_113-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-New_Solar_Cycle_Prediction-113"><span>[</span>113<span>]</span></a></sup> In any case, there is no scientific evidence linking a solar maximum to a geomagnetic reversal, which is driven by forces entirely within the Earth.<sup id="cite_ref-2012:_No_Geomagnetic_Reversal_114-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-2012:_No_Geomagnetic_Reversal-114"><span>[</span>114<span>]</span></a></sup> Instead, a solar maximum would be mostly notable for its effects on satellite and cellular phone communications.<sup id="cite_ref-goemag_115-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-goemag-115"><span>[</span>115<span>]</span></a></sup> David Morrison attributes the rise of the solar storm idea to physicist and science popularizer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michio_Kaku" title="Michio Kaku">Michio Kaku</a>, who claimed in an interview with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News" title="Fox News" class="mw-redirect">Fox News</a> that a solar peak in 2012 could be disastrous for orbiting satellites.<sup id="cite_ref-foratv_97-1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-foratv-97"><span>[</span>97<span>]</span></a></sup></p>
<h3 style="padding-left: 30px;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Planet_X.2FNibiru">Planet X/Nibiru</span></h3>
<div class="rellink relarticle mainarticle" style="padding-left: 30px;">Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibiru_cataclysm" title="Nibiru cataclysm">Nibiru cataclysm</a></div>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Some believers in doomsday in 2012 claim that a planet called Planet&nbsp;X, or Nibiru, will collide with or pass by Earth in that year. This idea, which has appeared in various forms since 1995, initially predicted Doomsday in May 2003, but proponents later abandoned that date after it passed without incident.<sup id="cite_ref-morrison_116-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-morrison-116"><span>[</span>116<span>]</span></a></sup> The idea originated from claims of channeling of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_aliens" title="Grey aliens" class="mw-redirect">alien beings</a> and has been widely ridiculed.<sup id="cite_ref-morrison_116-1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-morrison-116"><span>[</span>116<span>]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESchilling2008111_117-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-FOOTNOTESchilling2008111-117"><span>[</span>117<span>]</span></a></sup> Astronomers have calculated that such an object so close to Earth would be visible to anyone looking up at the night sky.<sup id="cite_ref-morrison_116-2" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon#cite_note-morrison-116"><span>[</span>116<span>]</span></a></sup></p>
<p><span>For what it's worth, we don't find any of these Armageddon theories particularly compelling, at least not with respect to Friday. But we've been wrong before...</span></p>
<p><span><em>Take a look at the five doomsday scenarios in action below:</em><br /></span></p>
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<p><span><strong>SEE ALSO:<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/most-impressive-people-of-the-year-2012-12"> The Most Impressive People Of 2012</a></strong><br /></span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-world-will-end-2012-12-b#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/apocalypse-men-thinking-about-sex-2012-12In The Face Of Earth-Ending Doom, Men Are Thinking About Sexhttp://www.businessinsider.com/apocalypse-men-thinking-about-sex-2012-12
Wed, 19 Dec 2012 11:04:00 -0500Jennifer Welsh
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/50d1e4586bb3f7df2500001c-400/jon-hamm-don-draper-mad-men.jpg" border="0" alt="Jon Hamm Don Draper Mad Men" /></p><p>On Friday, we may all die. OK, for reals though, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/actually-there-is-zero-chance-the-world-will-end-on-friday-2012-12">we definitely won't</a>.</p>
<p>That doesn't stop us from having a little fun with the idea of impending doom. Recent polls have found that about 20 percent of Americans are "somewhat concerned" about the hellfire about to be rained down upon us.</p>
<p>But, when the end is nigh, what are people really worried about?</p>
<p>As <a href="http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2012/12/end_of_world_poll_apocalypse_dec_21.php">LAWeekly</a>&nbsp;reports, a Harris Interactive poll of 3,036 adults commissioned by California online data-storage company <a href="http://www.backblaze.com/" target="_blank">Backblaze</a> found that almost 70 percent of people are worried about their digital family photos surviving the apocalypse.</p>
<p>But more than anything, it seems men are still thinking sex sex sex, the <a href="http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2012/12/end_of_world_poll_apocalypse_dec_21.php">LAWeekly blog reports</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">One in 4 men said they would regret not having more sex if the world does end. Only 1 in 10 women expressed the same sentiment.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-with-a-long-shelf-life-2012-12" >10 Foods That Will Last Forever In The Post-Apocalyptic World</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/failed-doomsday-predictions-2012-12" >10 Times The World Was Supposed To End And Didn't</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/where-to-go-for-the-apocalypse-2012-12" >14 Places To Hide Out During The Apocalypse</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apocalypse-men-thinking-about-sex-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/maya-descendants-face-discrimination-2012-12Meanwhile, Maya Descendants Face Discrimination And Povertyhttp://www.businessinsider.com/maya-descendants-face-discrimination-2012-12
Wed, 19 Dec 2012 08:14:40 -0500Henry Morales
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/50d1bda46bb3f7f05c00000d-400-/maya-4.jpg" border="0" alt="maya" width="400" /></p><p>At its peak, the Maya civilization had one of the richest cultures in the Americas. Today, ethnic Mayas in central America and Mexico suffer from discrimination, exploitation and poverty.</p>
<p>In Guatemala, where nearly half of the population is indigenous, descendants of the once-mighty ancient civilization have even fallen victims to genocide.</p>
<p>The rich Mayan culture will be in the global spotlight Friday when revelers -- and doomsday watchers -- will mark the end of a 5,200-year era as sketched out in the elaborate Mayan calendar.</p>
<p>But the plight of indigenous Mayas in the region will likely go undiscussed.</p>
<p>"The indigenous population was always seen as cheap labor and this persists to this day," said Guatemalan anthropologist Alvaro Pop, a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.</p>
<p>"They are seen as a tool and are not the focus of public policies."</p>
<p>The Maya civilization reached its peak between the years 250 and 900, but then slipped into decline around 1200.</p>
<p>Three centuries later, during Spanish colonization, the Mayas were dispossessed of their lands and reduced to poverty as well as servitude.</p>
<p>Today, there are currently an estimated 20 to 30 million direct descendants of the ancient civilization living in southern Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, where the indigenous group is most prevalent.</p>
<p>In Guatemala, ethnic Mayas often find themselves on the margins of society, with limited access to education, health care and other basic services. Their native languages are not officially recognized.</p>
<p>Within the indigenous community, which accounts for 42 percent of Guatemala's 14.3-million-strong population, the poverty rate is 80 percent.</p>
<p>Nearly six in 10 indigenous children suffer from chronic malnutrition, and the infant mortality rate has hit an alarming rate of 40 per 1,000 live births, according to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).</p>
<p>In Mexico, social misery and exploitation led to the creation in 1994 in Chiapas state of the media-savvy but later weakened Zapatista National Liberation Army, which drew attention to the community's plight.</p>
<p>But ethnic Mayas paid perhaps the heaviest price during Guatemala's civil war that pitted the army against leftist guerrillas from 1960 to 1996.</p>
<p>"There were external reasons which exacerbated the population's poverty and led to a stigmatization of indigenous people," according to Pop.</p>
<p>More than 600 massacres of indigenous communities were recorded during that period and tens of thousands of Indians sought refuge in southern Mexico from the brutal counter-insurgency by the military, according to a 1999 UN report.</p>
<p>Under the "scorched earth" policy conducted by the regime of ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt (1982-83), entire villages were wiped out.</p>
<p>In the midst of this systematic repression, indigenous activist Rigoberta Menchu rose to prominence. Her strong condemnation of the massacres earned her the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992.</p>
<p>"The armed conflict was used as a pretext to exterminate the indigenous population, physically and spiritually," Menchu told AFP.</p>
<p>As part of an apparent bid to root out Mayan spirituality, security forces targeted indigenous priests.</p>
<p>Menchu said the "scorched earth" policy also aimed to "push the indigenous population deeper into poverty."</p>
<p>Today, areas that are home to indigenous peoples have seen an influx of troops as part of the government's war on drugs.</p>
<p>And once again, Mayan descendants are being expelled from their lands -- this time, to make way for hydro-electric, mining or farming projects.</p>
<p>In Honduras, the growing demand for African palm oil, a key ingredient in cosmetics and processed foods, is fueling deadly land disputes, pitting large landowners against landless peasants.</p>
<div class="nc_footer">
<p>Copyright (2012) AFP. All rights reserved.</p>
</div>
<p><img class="nc_pixel" src="http://pixel.newscred.com/px.gif?key=YXJ0aWNsZT0xNDA1MDQ4NDQ1OGJiMzM2ODYxY2ZmMDI4ODUzYWNiYiZvd25lcj0xYjhjMzM1YzkwMmFjNGFiMTI4ZWU4ZWQ3NzNiZWUwNCZub25jZT1mYWZiN2FlOC0yZmJlLTQyNTMtODhkMi1hMTNjOTI5Mzc1YzQmcHVibGlzaGVyPThjMDBmYmVlNjFkNWJjZjBjNjA5MmQ4YjkyZWJiY2Ex" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/maya-descendants-face-discrimination-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-with-a-long-shelf-life-2012-1210 Foods That Will Last Forever In The Post-Apocalyptic Worldhttp://www.businessinsider.com/foods-with-a-long-shelf-life-2012-12
Tue, 18 Dec 2012 17:48:00 -0500Dina Spector
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/50d0f0d269bedd4675000004-400-/cans-10.jpg" border="0" alt="Cans" width="400" /></p><p>Some people think the world is going to end on Friday.&nbsp;</p>
<p>According to believers, this apocalypse <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/doomsday-theories-2012-12">could manifest itself in a number of ways</a>. If there is a disaster and you happen to make it out alive, there's a good chance supermarkets will soon be pillaged and you'll need access to a steady stream of food.</p>
<p>That means you'll need to pack your cupboard with shelf-stable ingredients that provide enough energy to help you rebuild society.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Here's what to grab before the end of the world hits, or during all that looting that's sure to follow.</p><h3>Honey</h3>
<img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/50d0a9b969beddd646000002-400-300/honey.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><strong>Shelf-life: Indefinite</strong></p>
<p>Honey may crystallize over time, resulting in a heap of thick, sugary gunk at the bottom of containers, but in terms of safety, the golden liquid is practically immortal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Honey can <a href="http://www.honey.com/tools-tips-and-resources/shelf-life-and-stability">last for centuries</a> if stored in a sealed jar, according to the National Honey Board.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Though it doesn't pack the same nutritional value (in terms of vitamins and minerals) as other foods, honey can add extra flavor to food, provide simple sugars, and can also be <a href="http://articles.cnn.com/2000-03-08/health/honey.healing.wmd_1_honeytreated-wound-researchers?_s=PM:HEALTH">used to treat wounds and burns</a>.&nbsp;</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>Pemmican</h3>
<img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/50d0bdedecad04b91600002a-400-300/pemmican.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><strong>Shelf-life: Indefinite</strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>Invented by Native Americans, pemmican was traditionally made from the lean meat of large game like buffalo, elk, or deer. The meat was dried over an open fire, mixed with fat, and pressed into little cakes. Sometimes berries were tossed in for extra flavor.</p>
<p>Pemmican makes the perfect survival treat because they're easy to make (there are only three basic ingredients), it's a good source of energy and protein, and it does not have to be refrigerated, cooked or heated.</p>
<p>Today,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.grasslandbeef.com/StoreFront.bok">US Wellness Meats</a>&nbsp;in Missouri makes packaged beef pemmican snack sticks and bars, which they say last up to two years in the freezer. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Here's a <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-make-pemmican/#axzz2FQmxAoWq">recipe</a> for homemade pemmican &mdash; for when your post-apocalyptic-self butchers an elk&nbsp;&mdash; which can supposedly last forever. &nbsp;</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>Meals, Ready to Eat</h3>
<img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/50d09f3f6bb3f7cc47000003-400-300/meals-ready-to-eat.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><strong>Shelf-life: 5+ years</strong></p>
<p>Commonly known as MREs, these pre-packaged meals have been sustaining American troops on the battlefield since 1981. Each foil pouch, which can be easily carried, prepared, and eaten, contains about 1,200 calories.</p>
<p>It's not just standard meat and potato dishes either. There are a&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meal,_Ready-to-Eat">wide range of entrees to choose from</a>, including beef brisket, lemon pepper tuna, and vegetable lasagna for plant-eating preppers.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Depending on storing conditions, an&nbsp;<a href="http://www.mreinfo.com/us/mre/mre-shelf-life.html">MRE bag can stay fresh for up to five years</a>. If you're less concerned about flavor, the pocket-size army grub can hold up for more than a decade. &nbsp;</p></p>
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-with-a-long-shelf-life-2012-12#hard-liquor-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> http://www.businessinsider.com/actually-there-is-zero-chance-the-world-will-end-on-friday-2012-12Actually, There Is ZERO Chance The World Will End On Fridayhttp://www.businessinsider.com/actually-there-is-zero-chance-the-world-will-end-on-friday-2012-12
Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:55:00 -0500Alyson Shontell
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/501c0b3f69bedd057c000006-400-300/t21.jpg" border="0" alt="terminator nuclear explosion apocalypse" /></p><p>According to a Mayan calendar that's been widely misinterpreted, the world is supposed to end on Friday, December 21, 2012.</p>
<p>Doomsdayers think <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-world-will-end-2012-12">the world will end one of four ways:</a></p>
<ul>
<li>We'll be engulfed in a giant black hole</li>
<li>The sun will pass through a "galactic plane"</li>
<li>Solar flares will fry us</li>
<li>A planet called Nibiru will collide with Earth</li>
</ul>
<p>Scientists and historians say there's no way <em>any</em> of those will happen.</p>
<p>According to John Carlson, the Director of the <a href="http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~tlaloc/archastro/cfaintro.html">Center of Archaeoastronomy</a>, no Mayan calendar ever suggested the world would end on Friday. The Mayan calendar doesn't end in 2012 either. "The whole thing was a misconception from the very beginning," <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/12/nasa-patiently-explains-why-the-mayan-apocalypse-is-definitely-not-happening/266242/">he tells The Atlantic.</a></p>
<p>The popular misconception stems from a long-count calendar the Mayans created to keep track of extended intervals of time. According to that calendar, the world was created on August 11, 3114 BC.</p>
<p>Like the odometer in a car, the numbers on the calendar can roll over, so number schemes that represent Mayan dates can repeat themselves.<br /><br />On August 11, 3114 BC, the Mayan "odometer" looked like this: 13-0-0-0-0.<br /><br />This Friday, it will look the same: 13-0-0-0-0.<br /><br />While historians acknowledge that number scheme was significant to the Mayans, its arrival on 12/21/12 never meant the end of the world -- at least not as evidenced by ancient Mayan ruins or tableaus historians have found.</p>
<p><img class="float_left" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/50d0e4d26bb3f71546000013-497-302/screen shot 2012-12-18 at 1.30.42 pm.png" border="0" alt="solar flare" width="318" height="193" />Scientists agree with historians: there's no evidence whatsoever that an unusual cosmic occurrence will occur this Friday. The head of NASA's near-earth object program, Dan Yeomans, hasn't seen any strange asteroids or planets headed toward Earth.</p>
<p>Another <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/nasa" class="hidden_link">NASA</a> scientist, David Morrison, confirms this. He says the government wouldn't be able to hide an object large enough to destroy Earth hurtling towards us in outer space. It'd be visible by now to everyone in the sky, and it would look like a very, very bright star.</p>
<p>"Just go outside and look," he suggests to anyone with a morsel of doubt.</p>
<p>Lika Guhathakurta leads NASA's star program, and she says the theory that solar flares will destroy earth on Friday are also false. It's true that the sun is approaching a solar maximum, but that happens every eleven years, and it poses no threat this Friday (see chart on the left).</p>
<p>If you still aren't convinced, you can watch all of these experts explain why there is no, scientifically-plausible way the apocalypse will occur on Friday, below:</p>
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